Weird things tend to happen when you live in a haunted house — not that author/ghost hunter Alice Carpenter has a problem disciplining the ten resident ghosts in her lakeside log cabin near forgotten-time Six Gun, Texas. When her cousin Katy calls looking for help with the resident ghost at Espirt d'Chene, the family mansion near Jefferson, Alice packs up her Rottweiler, Trucker, and Siamese, Miss Molly, and heads to come to the rescue.

Sir Gary Gavin, dead now over two hundred years, insists Alice is the only one who can expose his undeliberate murder to allow him to leave his tortured existence; and he's not above wreaking havoc at Espirt d'Chene until Alice concedes to his demands. Before Alice can even pack, though, Katy discovers a new murder — a headless corpse floating in her swimming pool. This new ghost — Bucky, the black-sheep son of a Texas senator — is dangerous in his newly-dead, confused state as he searches the plantation for his head.

Alice must somehow uncover the identity of Bucky's murderer, or else it looks like Katy will be charged with the crime, despite several other suspects who have motives for wanting Bucky dead. To make matters worse, the homicide detective in charge, Alice's ex-husband Jack, doesn't believe in ghosts. That leaves Alice no choice but to depend on her ghost hunting mentor, Twila, and her elderly neighbor, Granny, to assist in the investigation.

Katy is arrested, and there's no help for it: Sir Gary's going to have to join the investigation. Much to Jack's dismay — and the delight of the women — he is finally forced to admit that Sir Gary is real. A real ghost, anyway. Together, the unlikely team of sleuths join forces to help send Sir Gary to his deserved reward, track down the real killer, and set Katy free.

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Weird things tend to happen when you live in a haunted house — not that author/ghost hunter Alice Carpenter has a problem disciplining the ten resident ghosts in her lakeside log cabin near forgotten-time Six Gun, Texas. When her cousin Katy calls looking for help with the resident ghost at Espirt d'Chene, the family mansion near Jefferson, Alice packs up her Rottweiler, Trucker, and Siamese, Miss Molly, and heads to come to the rescue.

Sir Gary Gavin, dead now over two hundred years, insists Alice is the only one who can expose his undeliberate murder to allow him to leave his tortured existence; and he's not above wreaking havoc at Espirt d'Chene until Alice concedes to his demands. Before Alice can even pack, though, Katy discovers a new murder — a headless corpse floating in her swimming pool. This new ghost — Bucky, the black-sheep son of a Texas senator — is dangerous in his newly-dead, confused state as he searches the plantation for his head.

Alice must somehow uncover the identity of Bucky's murderer, or else it looks like Katy will be charged with the crime, despite several other suspects who have motives for wanting Bucky dead. To make matters worse, the homicide detective in charge, Alice's ex-husband Jack, doesn't believe in ghosts. That leaves Alice no choice but to depend on her ghost hunting mentor, Twila, and her elderly neighbor, Granny, to assist in the investigation.

Katy is arrested, and there's no help for it: Sir Gary's going to have to join the investigation. Much to Jack's dismay — and the delight of the women — he is finally forced to admit that Sir Gary is real. A real ghost, anyway. Together, the unlikely team of sleuths join forces to help send Sir Gary to his deserved reward, track down the real killer, and set Katy free.

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Jen

5.0 out of 5 starsHalloween is an awsome time to read this

1 November 2012 - Published on Amazon.com

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I really love a good mystery. Put a ghost or two in them with the fact I have read some of T. M. Simmons non-fiction books. I can only say I have a real hard time putting them down. They keep my interest from the first page to the last. She gives you humor, suspense and the surprise little endings I like so much. I am not sure why her books are so reasonable though. Our good luck because it is a must read. I think the other part I really relate to in her books, is her love of her pets. If I could write and I can't but if I could I would always include my pets like she does. They are as much part of family as any human. I missed saying anything about that little human element she adds to her writing. Always a little romance to make it even more interesting. I have almost complete the next book, Dead Man Haunting..

To start off, this book felt like it was not the first in the series. She kept referring to other ghostly encounters, like the reader knew what she was talking about. I wonder if those aren't referenced in the ghost hunting diaries she also published, but since those aren't part of this series, it left a lot of questions. It also seemed odd that the majority of the story took place away from her home base. Usually, a character doesn't travel for a few books in a series, to give the books a change of pace.

For me, the main mystery was far less interesting than the "side" mysteries. I couldn't have cared less about the dead guy and who killed him but I was very interested in Sir Gary and what his story was.

Alice is pretty funny, especially in contrast to the very proper Katy and I really enjoyed Granny. I also like how central her animals were to plot. Often, authors introduce animals and then promptly forget about them until they have a sudden plot point.

The book did have some rough patches, with the beginning of the book running at a frantic pace and then the middle dragging on too long, with little to nothing happening. The ending, as presented felt like it came out of left field, but once I thought about it for a few minutes, I actually made sense.

It's a good story although about half way through I pretty much knew who the murderer was. I didn't however have the motive quite right so it was a satisfying ending. The ghost aspect is what draws me to this genre and this book very nicely developed the character of the main ghost and wove an interesting history of his past life and present predicament in not being able to move on. The main thrust of this book though is the present day murder and the supporting characters who aid in solving it are as interesting and quirky as Alice, the main character. It's a good easy read that's better than most with minimal typos. If the rest of the series is as interesting as this first book I'll be a happy camper for my Sunday afternoons.

Oh, I Am So Glad I Downloaded This Awesome Book, And You Will Be Too! What A Fun, Adventurous, Absolutely Great Story! Alice, Together With Her Aunt Twila, Join Wits With Her Neighbor "Granny" To Track Down The Hidden Head Of The Latest Ghost At 'Esprit D'Chene', Her Ancestral Home And Childhood Haunt In Eastern Texas. It Seems Somebody Beheaded Billy, The No Good Son Of The Local Senator, And All Fingers Point To Sweet Little Cousin Katy, Now Owner Of The Huge Southern Mansion! It's Hilarious Trouble As The Girls Side-Step, Delay AND Involve Alice's Newly Ex Husband Jack, The Local Law, While They Vie For Time To Find The Real Killer, Help Billy's Ghost Cross Over And Get Poor Katy Out Of Jail! Did I Mention The First Ghost Of An Eighteenth Century Shipping Magnate? Did I Mention The Poisoned Sugar Bowl? Did I Mention The Mansion's Hidden Passages? T.M. Simmons Has A New Fan Here, And I Am Already Downloading The Next Books In Her 'Dead Man Mysteries' Series, While I Practice My Southern Drawl! So Pull Up A Chair Y'all, And Have A Slice Of Pecan Pie With Your Mint Julip! ...Murder, Anyone....?

Weird things tend to happen when you live in a haunted house -- not that author/ghost hunter Alice Carpenter has a problem disciplining the ten resident ghosts in her lakeside log cabin near forgotten-time Six Gun,, Texas. When her cousin Katy calls looking for help with the resident ghost at Espirt d'Chene, the family mansion near Jefferson, Alice agrees to come to the rescue.I almost did not download this book because the cover did not grab me. I am glad I did not let that stop me. I loved this story. The characters have humor and personality, even the ghosts. The story flowed smoothly and the editing was outstanding. It's been awhile since I have had a really good read, so good that I am itching to read more of this Authors writing. I would recommend this book to any age.Now go and download it, I know you want too. Have fun.Dead Man Talking (Dead Man Mysteries)